David Corkery: English showboating cost Ireland but key now is to put faith in Jack Crowley

Oh, my God. What a weekend of rugby, and what a final game as France broke English and Irish hearts at the same time.

I could list all the superlatives that describe the showdown in Paris, but if I had all the columns and inches that The Echo offers, I still wouldn’t have enough space to convey the excitement that was bestowed upon us as the French somehow snatched victory.

I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed watching three games of rugby in a single day as much as I did this weekend.

I had thought the excitement and unpredictability of last week could not be matched. It was surpassed. And in style.

After 15 games and 1,099 days without a win, Wales finally ended their misery by beating the ever-improving Italians, but their troubles are far from over.

With deep financial worries and dwindling player numbers, our Celtic cousins have a very steep climb, but, for now, they should be allowed to enjoy this victory.

HELL OF A SHOT

For Ireland, it wasn’t quite the fairytale finish that everyone had hoped it was going to be, but when your fate is dictated by someone else, all you can do is your best and just hope that luck is on your side.

Unfortunately, the English couldn’t do us a favour, but they did give it one hell of a shot, and they will be kicking themselves for letting their game against the much-fancied French be snatched away from them deep into injury time.

Maybe if players like Tommy Freeman and Henry Pollock hadn’t started celebrating too soon, and instead of making stupid and childish gestures towards the French supporters, concentrated for a few more minutes, England might have just held on for a historic victory. If I were the English coach, I would have read the riot act to Freeman and Pollock in the dressing room.

Both players are amazing talents, but if they think inciting and goading their opponents’ supporters is clever, especially with the game still very much in the balance, may I suggest they switch to soccer... Bloody idiots!

England have now signed off on their worst-ever Six Nations campaign by losing four games on the bounce. 

While it would have been great if they could have helped us becoming Six Nations champions, I was mostly delighted to see France win.

In a fascinating Six Nations season, the only certainty turned out to be uncertainty, with Andy Farrell and his players flipping some below-par performances into a Triple Crown-winning campaign. In layman’s terms, that’s a very good outcome.

Apart from the opening game against France, where Ireland were out-classed and out-played, Farrell will look back and lament his side’s failure to pick up a try-scoring bonus point against Italy and a losing bonus point against France.

With only two points separating Ireland and France in the final competition league table, Ireland will look back and wish they could play the Italian and French games again with the same kind of attitude they had in Saturday’s tie.

Maybe it was because the players took to the field with more freedom. Or maybe it was because Scotland were under a little bit more pressure to perform. I just hope that Farrell and co find ways of replicating this kind of performance when it matters most.

Now that Farrell has identified his number-one playmaker in Jack Crowley, maybe Ireland can develop their blueprint of how they want to play.

I’d really like to think that Sam Prendergast will be part of the Irish squad for years to come, but for now Crowley is the man and it's imperative Farrell looks at his style of play and build a strategy around the values that he brings to the game and not around Prendergast’s.

Ireland must look at Crowley’s strengths and imagine a formula that guides us to a World Cup semi-final. Triple Crown, Six Nations, and once-off victories against the big boys from below the equator are brilliant and hard-fought-for.

PRESSURE

However, if Ireland are going to reach the Everest of the game by competing in a World Cup final, they will have to first learn how to deal with the mental pressure that comes hand in hand with knockout rugby.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d happily sacrifice every game from now until the 2027 World Cup if Ireland could somehow find a way to make it to the final.

We know they have all the ingredients, but when it comes to the World Cup, ingredients are worthless unless they are blended correctly.